


riding alone for thousands of miles

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-06-08 21:29:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6874111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Clara meet on a broken down train. Travel AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	riding alone for thousands of miles

**Author's Note:**

> A little piece for a friend of mine

She's on the tube, playing one of those mind numbing yet addictive games when the train stops for no reason. She'd think there's a stop but they're still underground and the other passengers are making various confused noises, her phone gives a little beep and promptly dies. She curses out loud, earning a glare from a young father accompanied by two toddlers. She gives a little cringe by way of an apology and sits up, interlacing her fingers.

Just then the P.A. comes with a staticky crack before a droning voice reads out a message about the power going out and it should be fixed within the hour. She groans and lets herself slump into her seat.

It's unendurably hot in the car and she tries not to focus on it as she fans herself with a brochure she found in the recesses of her purse. She's all but sweating as she paces the car, heels clicking rhythmically on the floor, much to the aforementioned father, who's relentless glare forces her back into her seat.

Her eyes flicker from the floor to a young couple holding hands on the space between them to an older man across the way, wholly engrossed in a book. He's got a head of curly grey and is overdressed, clearly, in a dark coat, from which she catches a flash of scarlet every now and then, and what she thinks is a waistcoat underneath. His eyebrows move so expressively, as he reads and, she has to make a conscious effort not to laugh. He finally lifts the book, allowing her to glimpse at the cover. 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'.

"Good book" she comments, as she slides into the seat next to him. The man's head shoots up so fast, it's surprising his neck didn't snap. "Sorry, didn't mean to alarm you"

"It's fine" he says, rubbing the back of his neck. 

"I'm Clara, by the way" 

"Next time you should try lead with that instead" there's a quirk in the corner of his lips that lets her know he's joking "I'm the Doctor" he adds after a beat.

"Nice to meet you Doctor, where are you headed?" 

"Work, you?" 

"My grandmother's birthday at The Dorchester" 

"You look awful" he says, and she's more than slightly taken aback by his comment when he says "What you're wearing, I mean"

She frowns down at her attire, her favorite maroon blouse and a printed skirt "What's wrong with what I'm wearing"

"Nothing, if you happen to hate your gran" he mutters into a cup of coffee she hadn't noticed before and she doesn't get the chance to answer when he adds quickly "Why are you taking the tube?"

She decides to ignores his comment and says "I haven't a car and I don't think Linda would like it if I showed up on my bike"

"And, I take it, Linda is your grandmother?"

"Stepmother. Née nightmare"

He nods thoughtfully before taking another sip from his cup. They sit in silence for a few minutes, he with his nose buried in his book 

"Can I see?" she asks, gesturing to the specs lying, abandoned on the floor. He looks like he's having an internal debate before giving her a careful nod. She slides the glasses on in one fluid motion. They slip a bit on her nose and she pushes them back up. 

"My god, you're blind. Actually, properly blind. You're a blind doctor" she gasps, a tad too dramatically 

He blushes ever so slightly and says "I'm not blind and I'm not a doctor" 

"What are you then?"

"I'm a professor, I've got a doctorate, though"

"Why not call yourself the Professor, then?" 

"You're a nosy one, aren't you?"

"It's in the job description" he flashes her another quick smile.

He sighs and says "I call myself the Doctor because it's a long story and one I'm not particularly inclined to tell"

"I've got time" she says "We're going to be stuck there 

"Are you married?" She asks, and quickly realizes how out of the blue it is

"Not anymore" he gets this dreamy, faraway look in his eyes and she has to snap in his face to keep him grounded.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really, no"

"You're an absolute open book, aren't you?"

"I try"

They sit there for a while, in stifling heat, talking about everything and nothing, and after a while, she feels herself start to drift off. She lets out a loud yawn, and rests her head on his shoulder. His coat is really quite comfortable, despite the fact it must be a thousand degrees in the torrid room.

She's barely asleep ten minutes, when the feeling of the train moving nearly causes her to head butt his shoulder. Raising her head up, she flashes the Doctor a quick smile as an apology for sleeping on him (He didn't seem to mind, as he'd just gone back to his book).

They reach her stop in barely two minutes and she's a little too excited than she should be when the Doctor stands as she does. 

Before she knows it, she and the Doctor are standing at a junction, ready to walk separate ways. She's looking directly at the traffic light, willing it not to change. Not just yet.

"I should get going" she says, and the last word sort of stretches out, as if there's something else she wants to say

"I should to" 

They stand like that for a few seconds, two idiots standing at a junction. Without much warning, she digs a business card out of her bag and frantically scribbles something on the back, places it in his hand and says

"Call me, yea?" He just nods in response.

She's barely out of eyesight when her phone gives a little ping and she sees a

_Do you want to get coffee sometime?_

_Or chips_

_Or chips and coffee_

She smiles to herself and types back

_That sounds nice, yea_


End file.
